1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to newspaper vending machines and, more particularly, to a single-vend, single-fold newspaper vending machine having a single vend newspaper vending mechanism which will dispense a single newspaper downwards into a chute which will receive the vended newspaper and permit the newspaper to fall forwards and have an upper portion extend partially out of the chute for easy access thereto by a purchaser of the newspaper.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most newspaper vending machines on the market today are coin actuated and the insertion of a coin into the machine enables the prospective purchaser to open a door to gain access to the entire supply of newspapers within the machine. While the majority of customers will at that time only remove a single newspaper, there are some individuals who will remove multiple newspapers from the machine either for resale or distribution to others. Obviously, there is a need for a newspaper vending machine which will prevent the theft of newspapers from the machine.
Prior attempts have been made to overcome this problem by designing vending machines to dispense only a single copy of the newspaper in response to the insertion of coins in the machine. The scarcity of single copy newspaper vending machines is the best evidence of the failure of the prior art designs for single copy newspaper vending machines to address and solve the problems presented.
Various attempts have been made in the prior art to make single vend newspaper vending machines. For example, Moore, U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,120, discloses a newspaper vending machine which features an article holder which supports a newspaper stack. The reference also includes a pusher which frictionally or by piercing will engage each newspaper at the top of the stack and move it up and out of contact with the presser where upon the paper falls into a dispensing tray. The major disadvantage found in Moore, obviously, is that the intricate nature of the pulley system and movable nature of the pusher arrangement will almost certainly lead to numerous breakdowns and malfunctions while the invention is being used. Furthermore, there is no means by which the papers held within the machine can be seen to enable a potential purchaser to decide whether he or she should make that purchase.
Another example of a newspaper vending machine found in the prior art is shown in Godley, Sr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,461, which discloses a newspaper vending machine having a vertically moveable platform and a dispensing wedge. A drive shaft rotates to raise or lower the platform in response to rotation of an external crank thus vending the next newspaper on a stack. While Godley certainly presents a more simple and efficient system for vending newspapers than Moore, Godley includes several features which can be improved upon. For example, the dispensing mechanism for the newspaper involves the raising the stack of newspapers above a dispensing wedge thus allow the topmost newspaper to slide off of the top of the stack and thus be dispensed. However, some vended newspapers are of a narrow thickness and, therefore, as the platform is cranked upwards, the height added to the newspaper platform may cause two or more newspapers to fall from the top of the stack, thus resulting in the entire purpose for the invention being destroyed. Also, the crank handle as shown in Godley may be more prone to malfunctions due to the various connected elements within Godley. There is therefore a need for reliable and efficient single vend newspaper vending machine which will correctly vend even newspapers of narrow thickness.
Various other inventions have been proposed in the prior art which attempt to address and resolve the problems inherent in single vend newspaper vending machines. Included among these are such devices as Gunzler, U.S. Pat. No. 3,705,665, Wingate, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,448,328, and 4,506,800, and Hennessy, U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,513. Each of these inventions, however, include inherent problems which do not fully address and solve the problem of producing an efficient and reliable single vend newspaper vending machine. There is therefore a need for an efficient and reliable single vend newspaper vending machine.
Another problem encountered in connection with coin operated vending machines in the prior art is that it is often possible for the machine to “jam” with a paper stuck in the dispensing chute. This can result in the person using the machine to be able to reach into the machine to remove additional papers illegally. There is a need for a dispensing mechanism and chute which will prevent such unauthorized access.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved single vend newspaper vending machine having an output slot for supporting the newspaper in an easily graspable position.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved single vend newspaper vending machine having an output slot which is capable of vending papers of varying thicknesses one at a time.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved single vend newspaper vending machine having an output slot which will prevent unauthorized entry into the interior of the machine through the dispensing slot or handle section.
Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved single vend newspaper vending machine having an output slot which is safe, durable and efficient in use.